A St. Bernard parish man pled guilty to oyster violations in St. Bernard Parish Court on April 20.
Judge Kirk Vaughn accepted the guilty plea from Joshua C. Alfonso, 30, and sentenced him to pay a $950 fine plus court costs. Alfonso pled guilty to taking oysters from an unapproved polluted area as set by the Department of Health and Hospitals.
Since this is Alfonso’s second offense, his oyster harvester license will also be revoked for three years. He is also forbidden to be on a vessel possessing oysters or processing oysters for three years. Alfonso’s dredge that was seized by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) agents will be forfeited to the state.
The guilty plea stems a citation Alfonso received from LDWF agents on Sept. 9, 2016 for harvesting oysters from a polluted area closed by DHH in Lake Robin on un-leased state water bottoms in St. Bernard Parish.
District Attorney Perry Nicosia’s office prosecuted the case for the state and Senior Agent Blaine Wagner was the case agent.